The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump's higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call on Friday to discuss the proposed deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools -- the University of Virginia -- had already declined to sign the agreement.

The people who shared details of the call spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting nine universities to become ''initial signatories'' of the compact, which asks colleges to make commitments aligned with Trump's political priorities in exchange for favourable access to research funding. The White House asked university leaders to provide initial feedback on

See Full Page